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Brief on state of play in international climate change talks
Climate Change has emerged as a key environmental issue of global importance given that
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts with a high degree of
confidence an increase in global mean temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and the
magnitude of extreme events including droughts, floods and cyclones. All these changes have
significant regional variations with differential capabilities of countries to be able to respond
to these changes. While developed countries are historically responsible, developing
countries have limited capacities both in terms of technology and finance to respond
effectively. Realising the inevitable changes and the urgency to respond, the United Nation’s
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992. The
convention sets out a framework for action with an objective to stabilize atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference
with the climate system. The Convention, which entered into force on 21 March 1994, now
has 195 parties.
To realise the ultimate objective of the convention, viz. stabilisation of Green House Gases
(GHG), the Kyoto Protocol (KP) was adopted in 1997. It called for emissions reductions
target for Annex I Parties, wherein they agreed to reduce their overall emissions of six
greenhouse gases by 5.2% below 1990 levels from 2008-2012, with specific targets varying
from country to country. The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2005 and now has 192
parties. Since, it is both difficult and involves high cost for the developed countries to achieve
such targets through domestic action alone, flexibility mechanisms were designed to allow
for trading of carbon credits.
The Bali Action Plan was adopted in 2007. It is a comprehensive process to enable the full,
effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative
action, now, up to and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome and adopt a
decision. The Bali Action Plan is divided into five main categories: shared vision, mitigation,
adaptation, technology and financing. The shared vision refers to a long-term vision for
action on climate change, including a long-term goal for emission reductions. The
negotiations took place under two tracks: the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further
Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP), and the Ad Hoc
Working Group on long term cooperative action (AWG-LCA). The deadline for concluding
the two-track negotiations was in Copenhagen in 2009. In preparation, both AWGs held
several negotiating sessions in 2008-2009.
The Copenhagen Conference was held in December 2009. It resulted in the “Copenhagen
Accord,” which was then presented to the COP plenary for adoption but was only “taken note
of”. In 2010, over 140 countries indicated support for the Accord. More than 80 countries
also provided information on their national mitigation targets or actions. Parties also agreed
to extend the mandates of the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP until 2010 to be concluded in
Cancun.
Cancun Climate Conference held in 2010, finalized the Cancun Agreements which
recognized the need for deep cuts in global emissions in order to limit global average
temperature rise to 2°C. Besides, the Cancun Agreements established several new institutions
and processes such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was created and designated as a
new operating entity of the Convention’s financial mechanism governed by a 24-member
board with a commitment by developed countries to provide US$30 billion of fast-start
finance in 2010-2012, and to jointly mobilize US$100 billion per year by 2020. The mandates
of the two AWGs were extended till 2011 climate conference in Durban.
Durban climate conference held in 2011, concluded in the Durban outcomes cover a wide
range of topics, notably the establishment of a second commitment period under the Kyoto
Protocol, a decision on long-term cooperative action under the Convention and agreement on
the operationalization of the GCF. Parties also agreed to launch the new Ad-hoc Working
Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) with a mandate “to develop a
protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the
Convention applicable to all Parties.” The ADP is scheduled to complete negotiations by
2015. The outcome should enter into effect from 2020 onwards.
At the Doha Conference, the AWG-KP was terminated with a formal decision on the second
commitment period under the KP from 2013 till 2020. The AWG-LCA was also terminated
with unresolved issued being transferred to subsidiary bodies. The work plan for ADP was
agreed upon towards arriving at the post-2020 climate agreement. At Doha, the ADP decided
“to identify and to explore in 2013 options for a range of actions that can close the pre2020 ambition gap” and to “consider elements for a draft negotiating text” latest by 14
December 2014 and make a negotiating text available before May 2015. The future
negotiations under the ADP will take place under two work-streams. The primary task of the
Work-stream 1 is to explore the scope, structure and design of the 2015 agreement ensuring
application of the principles of the Convention to the ADP and suggest ways to define and
reflect undertakings by the Parties. To this end, the ADP has invited Parties and accredited
observer organizations to submit to the secretariat, by 1 March 2013, information, views and
proposals on matters related to mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and
transfer, capacity-building, and transparency of action and support. The Work-stream 2
focuses on enhancement of mitigation ambitions while ensuring application of the principle
of the Convention. To this end it has invited the Parties and accredited observer organizations
to submit to the secretariat, by 1 March 2013, information, views and proposals on actions,
initiatives and options to enhance ambition, including consideration of mitigation and
adaptation benefits; barriers and ways to overcome them, and incentives for actions; finance,
technology, and capacity-building to support implementation. The work under the ADP is to
progress through a series of workshops beginning in 2013.